Bat.



W. A. MILLER.

BAT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, I914.

n0 1 9 1 0 3 Va 06 M d e l u n AU t a D1 l" l ilt t" WILLIAM A. MILLER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

Application filed. November 11, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. MILLER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a bat similar in form to a tennis racket or battledore having a head of large superficial area and is designed to be used by a person batting a projectile so as to keep the same continuously in the air or by two or more persons engaged in batting a projectile back and forth.

My bat differs radically from the prior art in being provided with indicating or registering means under the control of a contact and adapted to be operated when the same is struck fairly by the projectile, each operation of the indicating or registering means displaying a difierent numeral or other indication or a blank. Count can thus be kept by a player of the number of times he strikes a ball fairly and two or more players may keep score, their bats recording the number of times each has struck the ball squarely. Where the indications are in the nature of mottoes the bat may be used to tell fortunes, and it can be operated manually by pressing down and then releasing the plunger if desired.

The indicating means which I prefer to employ is a movable plate preferably rotatable which may be moved step by step, the said plate having an indicating space corresponding to each step and the step by step movement being controlled by the contact.

The details of my invention will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of my hat, a projectile being shown thereon; Fig. 2 is a vertical sec tion through the drum, and Fig. 8 is an inverted plan view of the operating parts shown in Fig. 2, parts of the shaft being shown in section.

My bat which is of the ordinary shape of a tennis racket or battledore is provided with the usual handle 1 and with heads 2 and 3 of large superficial area, said heads Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May3t), isle.

Serial No. 871,610.

tion of the handle as a support being especially desirable where the heads are of paper, canvas or other light or soft material. The head 2 is provided with a slot or transparent window 5 which may be of celluloid or the like but is most easily formed by omitting a portion of material of the head. Underneath the head 2 is located a movable plate 6 having arranged on radial spaces a series of indications 7 which may be a set of numerals, a number of mottoes, phrases of various kinds, pictures, names of cities, of renowned persons, or whatever is desired including blank spaces where it is thought that this would add to the interest. The said indications are arranged in one or more series and are so located 011 the movable plate that they may be brought beneath the opening or transparent window 5. I prefer to mount this plate rotatably on a support 8 which is most conveniently located at the center of the drum. The support may be held in position by the heads 2 and 3, as illustrated, or by an extended portion of the handle. It will be understood that the plate 6 may be mounted in various ways deemed suitable. This plate is shown in the form of a disk and has a series of teeth 9 adjacent its periphery, these being spaced to correspond with the spaces bearing the series of indications above referred to. An easy mode of forming these teeth is to provide the platewith a series of radial slits and to bend the metal adjacent each slit alternately in oppo- .ite directions away from the plane of the plate. These teeth are partof a step by step mechanism. It will be obvious that holes, indentations, or teeth of a different character might be employed.

Vithin the limits of the head 2 I locate a contact 10 which I prefer to place in the axis of the head and which operates most effectively when it extends above or be yond the plane of said head. A satisfactory form of this contact is that illustrated in the drawings in which it takes the form of a contact button or plunger located in the tubular post 8 within which it slides. Between this contact and the indicating plate 6 there are operative connections, shortly to be described, the arrangement being such that, when the contact 10 is squarely struck by a projectile, the indicating plate is operated. In the construction as I have illustrated it, the contact moves the operative connections into rearward position and, on release of the contact when the pressure of the projectile ceases, a spring gives the connections a quick forward movement thus actuating the indicating plate moving it one step, i. 6., the width of one indicating space from the cen-' ter of one such space to the center of th next. 7

'The operative connections are supported in any suitable manner, as by an arm 11 which, in the drawings, is shown supported by the post S'but which obviously may be supported also at its other end if desired. This armsupports a rock shaft 12 extendlng' lengthwise of the arm and mounted to turn in bearingsor keepers 13, 14 on said arm. The rock shaft has a crank arm 15, 16 at its inner end to which is connected the'contact 7 through an extension 17 the rock shaft 12 also having another crankarm 18, 19 on which is pivotally mounted an actuating pawl 20 pressed into contact with the teeth of; the indicating plate by a'spring 21. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that when the conta ct 10is depressed the rockshaft 12 will be rotated and the actuating pawl 20 moved back over a'tooth 9, the indicating plate be ing at this time held stationary by the pawl 22. The return'or actuating movement of the parts is caused by the spring scene end ofwhich is fixed to the arm and the other of which cooperates with the crank arm'15, 16; In the construction illustrated Ihave provided a fiat spring 2 1 above the indicator plate 6. to hold its teeth in contact with the pawls 20 and 22.

o The PIO]6Cl3llG is shown in Fig. 1 and is indicated by the numeral 25. It will be understood, however, that any suitable projectile, such as the well-known shuttlecock comprising a cork with feathers set in it to keepthe cork upright and make it spin, or

' alball, maybe used.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A bat comprising 1nd1cat1ng means, and having a movable contact in the drlv ng face ofthe batoperatively connected to said indicating means.

2. Abat compr singa movable member provlded wlth a serles of indlcations, a contact adapted to be struck by 'a projectile and operative connections between said contact and said member comprising a spring to change theiposition of themember when the contact is fairly struck.

3. A bat comprising a flat head of large j superficial, area, indicatingmeansassociated therewith, a contact movably mounted adj acent said head,.,and operative connections A bat comprising a handle, a head of large superficial area carried by said handle in substantially its plane, indicating means 7 associated with said head, and a movable between said contact and indicating means.

contact and indicating means controlled by said contact, and spring means for actuating said connections and indicating means.

5. A bat comprising a handle, a fiat head of large superficial area carried thereby, aplate movably mounted beneath said head and provided with a series of indications of which one is visible at a given time through said plate, a contact movably mounted adjacent said head and within its limits, and operative connections between said contact member and plate for giving the plate step by step movement from time to time.

6. A bat comprising a handle, a flat head of large superficial area carried thereby, a plate movably mounted beneath said head and provided with a series of indications one of which is visible at a time through said head, a series of teeth on said plate spaced to correspond with said indications,

toothed plate for giving the plate step by step movement from time to time to display different indications.

7. A bat comprising a handle, two flat heads carried thereby one of which is provided with a slot, a plate rotatably mounted beneath the head having the slot and provided with a series of indications of which one is visible at a given time through said slot, teeth on said plate corresponding to said indications, a movable contact, means connected with said contact for giving the plate step by step movement from time to time.

8. 'A bat comprising a handle, a flat head of large superficial area in substantially the plane of the handle, a plate rotatably mounted beneath said head and provided with a series of indications, a movable contact piece centrally located in said head and operative connections between said movable contact and plate for rotating the same step by step from time to time.

9. A bat comprising a handle, a fiat drum carried thereby, a tubular post in said drum, a contact slidable in said tubular post, a plate rotatably mounted on said post and provided with a'series of indications one of which at a' time is visible through one head of the drum, and means adapted to be controlled by the contact for giving the plate tially in the plane of the handle, an indicating plate rotatably mounted beneath said 7 head, a contact plunger mounted to slide through said head, a series of teeth on said plate, a rock shaft, said shaft having two arms one being operatively connected to the sliding contact plunger to turn the shaft in one direction, an operating pawl carried by said other arm and coacting with said teeth, spring means for operating said rock-shaft in the other direction, and a retaining pawl for said indicator plate.

11. A bat comprising a handle, a fiat drum carried thereby, a post mounted therein, a contact piece supported by said post projecting above the surface of the drum, a member rotatably mounted on said post and provided with teeth corresponding to the number of indicating spaces, a support in said drum, a rock shaft mounted thereon and provided with a plurality of cranks, an operating pawl carried bv one of said cranks, operative connections between the other of said cranks and said movable contact piece, and a spring acting in opposition to the contact piece.

12. A bat comprising a handle, a flat drum of large superficial area carried thereby, a tubular post mounted in said drum, a contact plunger sliding in one end of said post,

an indicating plate rotatably mounted on said post, operative connections between said plunger and plate, and spring means actuating the connections in one direction.

13. A bat comprising an indicator, a flat head provided with a driving face of large superficial area, a contact in the driving face of said head adapted to be struck by a projectile, and operative connections between said contact and said indicator.

14. A bat comprising an indicator, a flat head provided with a driving face of large superficial area, a contact in the driving face of said head adapted to be struck by a projectile, operative connections between said contact and said indicator, and means for returning said contact when struck.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. MILLER. lVitnesses:

NANCY J ANE FAY, JOHN E. FAY.

come; of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addrctaina tha "Gomimfloncr or macaw.

anhlnton, n. G. 

